CMLL
The final card for tonight’s show
CMLL (FRI) 11/05/2021 Arena México
1) Robin & Sonic vs Grako & Inquisidor
2) Espíritu Negro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa vs Akuma, El Coyote, Espanto Jr.
3) La Jarochita & Lluvia © vs Amapola & Metálica [MEX WOMEN TAG]
5th defense
4) Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto vs Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Último Guerrero
5) Terrible © vs Atlantis Jr. [Rey del Inframundo]
This is a Ticketmaster PPV; likely we’ll have decent audio tonight but who’s to say. The daylight savings time difference is still in effect. The show should air on TV on 11/13 and YouTube on 11/21, though there’s a slight chance of something different since it’s a special show.
Atlantis Jr. hasn’t had a singles match in Arena Mexico since 2019. He had one in Arena Puebla a couple of months ago but, unless you live in that city, you’ve never seen him in a three falls CMLL match. His only Arena Mexico 1v1s have been lightning matches. (They’ve also both weirdly been draws – a time-limit one with Templario and a count-out with Villano III Jr.) Atlantis Jr. has been pushed near the top since he’s started, but they’ve never put him in a position quite like this, and it’ll be fascinating to see how he pulls through.
The rest of the card looks like it should be fine but nothing all that special. Los Infernales need to win the semimain unless they’re setting up a match. A tag title change would be a genuine surprise. Espiritu Negro, Guerrero Maya and Rey Cometa may have cool costumes.
Saturday has the previously announced return to Arena Coliseo; they’ve put most of the attention on the “prelim guy gets a main event spot” cibernetico match. Sunday has the final Dia del Muertos Arena Mexico show with nothing special; I guess finding out it Atlantis Jr. will betray his father and go rudo again is the most compelling part.
CMLL (MON) 11/08/2021 Arena Puebla
1) King Jaguar vs Prayer
2) Shockercito © vs Asturiano [CMLL MINI]
6th defense, first since March 2019
3) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Stigma vs Enfermero Jr. & Misterioso Jr.
4) El Audaz, Fugaz, Stuka Jr. vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
5) Ángel de Oro, Cavernario, Volador Jr. vs Atlantis Jr., Felino, Templario
Maybe Atlantis Jr. is a rudo and it’s a less mixed main event? They’re actually doing the weird sides to give Felino/Cavernario around.
La Infernal, the widow of Villano III and mother of the two Villano III sons wrestling, came back to CMLL in 2019 after a twenty year gap in wrestling. She struggled exactly like you’d expect for a woman who’d been out of wrestling for two decades, and disappeared from CMLL lineups in October 2020. La Infernal returned for a couple of matches in June, then was listed on the final CAR The Crash show this past weekend but didn’t wrestle. La Infernal did attend the show and, in an interview with Mas Lucha, sounds like she’s done with CMLL and maybe with getting in the ring entirely.
AAA
AAA taped Thursday in Taxco, Guerrero, which should cover TV for the weeks of 11/13, 11/20, and 11/27. AAA hasn’t taped more than three weeks in one setting, their wrestlers seem like they’re booked elsewhere today, so there may not be another taping. That would mean TripleMania Regia is airing live on 12/04, because there’d be nothing else new left to air.
this Saturday’s show
- Estrella Cosmica vs Picadura Letal
- Nino Hamburguesa, Octagon Jr., Myzteziz Jr. vs Toxin, Villano III Jr., Argenis
- Abismo Negro Jr., Arez, Psicosis (II) vs Chessman, Psycho Clown, Pagano
They’re back to the normal 6:30 pm CT time. However, if you’re in the US or otherwise haven’t changed your clock, that’s an hour later than normal (like 7:30 pm CT in the US.)
If AAA airs on the normal schedule the following week (11/13), they’re airing heads up against the AEW PPV. I’m also traveling that day; I think I’ll be back in time for both shows, but I’ll probably be cutting it close and I’m not sure there’s a great point in airing AAA live. I may record it and run it on Sunday instead. I’ll let you know.
WWE Releases
Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada), Lince Dorado, Franky Monet (Taya Valkyrie), Karrion (Killer) Kross, and Scarlett Bordeaux were among those released by WWE. Most will be paid for 90 days and thus unable to wrestle elsewhere. Monet and perhaps Bordeaux are under NXT contracts and are only limited for 30 days; Taya could reappear in AAA just in time for TripleMania Regia if both sides want to do it.
The Lucha House Party duo had previously asked to be let go, though there’s a good chance they would’ve been caught up in this wave of cuts anyway. Their time had just come and gone in WWE, where they didn’t fit in great to begin with. Taya had terrible luck, getting her WWE spot just before WWE pivoted away from using experienced wrestlers. Kross & Bordeaux seemed just to be pawns in some greater dispute between NXT and WWE creative, but there may be additional reasons some wrestlers were let go.
I’m guessing AAA has an interest in bringing all of these wrestlers (and others recently released talent), it’s probably more an issue of if the wrestlers share that interest and if they can work out a financial deal. I don’t know if Taya, just to pick one name, is going to be interested in coming back to AAA or already feel like she’s done all she had to do there. AAA, over multiple creative leads, have been especially high on Kross, giving him a long undefeated streak that never went anywhere. Konnan and his friends were big defenders of Kross as he went to Impact and WWE, and I could see him being motivated to bring Kross back just to prove he could use Kross better than WWE. I didn’t think Kross every really connected in AAA, but I’d be surprised if he didn’t turn. Kross specifically talked about wanting to wrestle Cain Velasquez in AAA, with the promotion shooting an angle on a TripleMania for it (and of course it never going anywhere). A 90 day no-compete would prevent him from being the mysery rudo at TripleMania opposite Velasquez, though those deals sometimes only cover US TV and AAA is infamously not avaible in the US.
I don’t know what will become of Mascara Dorada. It’d be great to see him have matches like he did five years ago against Euforia in CMLL or Rey Escorpion now in AAA. I don’t know if those level of performances are still in him, I’m not sure if he’ll have a great interest in working in Mexico outside of high priced indies (maybe he’s a Robles guy), and I’m not sure if he’s thought it out. The last five years have probably been much easier on Dorada’s body but hard on his brain, I’d guess. A reoccurring bit of Bryan Danielson’s time in WWE is him telling the press he’d really like to wrestle Gran Metalik and WWE apparently refusing to book it, even on a random house show or unimportant TV broadcast. That seems like a something AEW would be willing to do, though Dorada may need to do well to be brought back past that. If he doesn’t catch on somewhere bigger but stays in the US, I could see the new ROH bringing Dorada and Lince Dorado for some dates if their current Mexican talent is no longer unavailable (and if ROH does indeed run in 2022.)
Chile’s Katrina Cortez also was let go. She appeared on RAW as Catalina when they wanted a masked luchadora to match with Sin Cara against Andrade & Zelina Vega. That storyline ended quickly and she was just left adrift for many months. She’s someone who could’ve used a lot of in-ring experience, and that disappeared with the pandemic. Both the brief Sin Cara connection and the tendency of South American wrestlers spending some time in Mexico might mean we’ll see her on some Mexican wrestling shows.
Other News
IWRG (THU) 11/04/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Shalom b Baby Star 
2) Kenji & Limbo b Hell Boy & Spider Fly 
3) Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli b Akbal, Rey Halcón, Sol
4) Black Terry & Dr. Cerebro vs Medico Brujo & Sick Boy and Sweet Daddy Soul & Taylor Wolf 
Black Terry replaced an injured Cerebro Negro
5) Diva Salvaje, Estrella Divina, Jessy Ventura b Giant Orión, Hijo del Fishman, Lil Blay
Attendance seemed minimal. IWRG cycles through a lot of people and it makes it interesting to see who will show up – Taylor Wolf is a Chilean wrestler who was last wrestling in IWRG in 2017 – but also there’s a lot of shows where the fans don’t have much attachment to the wrestlers.
Aerostar and Samuray del Sol lost to FTR for the AAA Tag Team Championship on the 11/03 AEW Dynamite. The match had timing flaws and Aerostar continues to look hurt in every match, but they did lucha things and it was a match that existed for people to do lucha things and FTR to cheat them out of the win. The match was overshadowed by Samuray del Sol thanking the late Brodie Lee in a post-match Tweet and Chris Jericho calling him out for misspelling “John” and Brodie Lee’s widow backing up Jericho while implying Samuray del Sol was just name dropping to get himself over. It both seemed very weird to do publicly and like there was some bigger deal going on privately that we weren’t seeing. I’d be surprised if either guy was back in AEW.
Laredo Kid won a four-way on Thursday’s Impact show, earning a shot at Trey Miguel and the X-Division championship on their November 20th Turning Point show., which is part of their monthly Impact Plus package. It’d be a surprise if Laredo won; they were already building up the next feud in setting up this match.
Bandido defends the ROH World Championship against Alex Zayne on this week’s ROH TV show.
The Crash has its 10th Anniversary show today. They’ve been posting memories of past Anniversary shows on Facebook, and most of the replies have been asking why there has never been an announced lineup for this show. Maybe there are matches they can’t announce for political reasons, but it’s been very strange.
MLW has a TV taping Saturday in Philadelphia. Notable matches include
- Homicide vs LA Park
- Aramiz vs Arez, winner gets a briefcase of cash
- LA Park & Hijo de LA Park vs 5150 for the MLW Tag Team Championships
- Mil Muertes w/Karlee Perez (ex-Catrina) will also appear
MLW has no TV tapings announced past this one until a March (WrestleMania weekend) show in Dallas. Previous WON reporting suggested MLW would tape in Mexico next. Both MLW and The Crash are running on Saturday, so one or the other should announce something by the end of the night.
GALLI has their 500th show on Sunday, including Psycho Clown, Aeroboy and Cody Jones versus La Empresa, and Arez & Aramis against Dante Martin & Mr. Iguana. They’re not on FITE, but the top matches usually turn up somewhere later on.
11/27 RIOT (Mark Tank)
- Kratoz vs Demonio del Aire vs Prometeo, winner receives a title shot
- Extreme Tiger vs Iron Kid
- Hechicero vs Erick Ortiz (3) – new
The second Hechicero/Oritz match took place on the still unreleased 09/18 show. Hechicero has tended to be a surprise on RIOT shows with AAA wrestlers booked to keep him out of trouble with CMLL. Hechicero being announced in advance means either that has changed or the usual Arez/Latigo/Aramis crew may not be working this show.
In Dragon Gate, Diamante will put his mask in a tag match. It’s Diamante & Dia Inferno face Shun Skywalker & Dragon Dia on 12/01 in a mask match where only the loser of the fall loses their mask. Dia Inferno is the most likely loser, though I guess it’s not totally out of the question Diamante may lose as well. (I think it’s more likely Diamante is being saved for a bigger match, either Ultimo Dragon on a Dragonmania or perhaps Shun Skywalker on a big Dragon Gate show.) Inferno’s identity is a secret but can be quickly figured out if you remember any Dragon Gate trainee who came to Mexico for a few months and then disappeared from the face of the earth. The EITA/NOSAWA led NOAH-based Perros del Mal group also appeared on today’s Dragon Gate show.
A “Lucha Libre Elite” Facebook page has been re-posting old ELITE matches on their page, prompting some to believe the promotion may be returning. (There was also a Lucha Libre Elite YouTube channel which appeared to be run by a fan and not done by the promotion; I think this Facebook is actually a promotional run one, but it may just be an ex-employee with the login for all we know.) ELITE as memorable but not at all successful in drawing fans. It also lived as TV Azteca property and Azteca has since switched to working with AAA, though that deal does tend to come up at the end of the year, and AAA’s been in a seemingly unfavorable late night spot. I don’t think Elite is coming back, and I don’t think it’d do better than the last three-five attempts if it does, but there are a bunch of suddenly available people they could build around if they want to make another go at it.
Mas Lucha is opening a Whatsapp group, one for all the fans and one just for the premium members.
The documentary on lucha libre during the pandemic is now available on YouTube.
LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.